Triumphs and Wonders of the 19th Century: The True Mirror of a Phenomenal Era / A volume of original, entertaining and instructive historic and descriptive writings, showing the many and marvellous achievements which distinguish an hundred years of material, intellectual, social and moral progress

by James P. Boyd

The growth of libraries in the United States during the nineteenth century has been phenomenal. If its leading libraries have not yet matched those of the old world in extent, they are, nevertheless, unique in their freshness, exceptional in their number, original in their systems, and most effective in their uses. And what is here said of the leading libraries is still more true of the smaller, for in no country has the library system so ramified as in the United States, and come down to such close touch with the people. Not only cities, towns, and even villages have their libraries, but States, schools, and myriads of special organizations, all of which are centres of culture and sources of literary pride.

The oldest library in the United States is that of Harvard College. It was founded in 1638, and was destroyed by fire in 1764. It was speedily restored, and became the recipient of many private donations, which not only greatly increased the number of its volumes, but placed it in possession of a handsome endowment fund. Since its removal to Gore Hall, in 1840, it has been open to the public for reading within its walls, but only the students of the university and other privileged persons may borrow books. Its present collection numbers over half a million of volumes of books and pamphlets. In the year 1700, two other libraries were founded,—that of Yale College, and that which afterwards became known as the New York Society Library. The first of these grew very slowly until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when it took on new life, and at the end of the century contains some 250,000 volumes. The latter also grew very slowly, and in 1754 became a subscription library. It is peculiarly the library of the old Knickerbocker families and their descendants, and the number of its volumes gravitates around 100,000.

In 1731, Benjamin Franklin projected what he called a “subscription library” at Philadelphia. It was incorporated as the Library Company of Philadelphia, and grew rapidly through bequests of books and money. In 1792 it absorbed the very valuable Loganian Library, and in 1869 Dr. Benjamin Rush left a bequest of over $1,000,000 to found its Ridgeway Branch. The building erected for this purpose is, with the exception of the new Library of Congress structure at Washington, the handsomest, most commodious, and best arranged for library purposes of any in the United States. The collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia, commonly called the Philadelphia Library, now numbers well nigh 200,000 volumes. Of the sixty-four libraries in the United States reported to have been founded before the year 1800, thirty were established between 1775 and 1800. The more important of these—that is, those which rank as 20,000-volume libraries and over—are the Massachusetts Historical Society Library, at Boston, founded in 1791; the Georgetown College Library, at Georgetown, D. C., founded in 1791; the Dartmouth College Library, at Hanover, N. H., founded in 1769; the Columbia College Library, New York City, founded in 1754; the library of the College of Physicians, at Philadelphia, founded in 1789; the College of New Jersey Library, at Princeton University, founded in 1746; the Brown University Library, at Providence, R. I., founded in 1768; the Department of State Library and House of Representatives Library, Washington, D. C., founded in 1789; the Williams College Library, at Williamstown, Mass., founded in 1793.

From this standpoint we get a fair view of the tremendous strides of library growth in the United States during the nineteenth century. The sixty-four libraries of 1800 have grown to well nigh four thousand, not counting those of less than 1000 volumes; and the less than 500,000 volumes of 1800 have increased to well nigh 30,000,000, omitting those in libraries of less than a thousand volumes. Over six hundred libraries in the United States take rank as 20,000-volume libraries and over, at the end of the century; and in the six statistical years between 1888 and 1893, which mark the greatest ratio of increase in volumes, there was a growth equal to 66 per cent over all that had preceded.

Nor has the century been more triumphant and wonderful in the accumulation of volumes and the number of book repositories than in the variety of systems and multiplicity of agencies by means of which library information is arranged and disseminated. Conspicuous among these has been the inauguration and growth of the free library system, by means of which public funds are provided for the support of libraries whose use is free to all. Hardly less conspicuous, and perhaps even more far reaching, has been the adoption by many States of the school-district library system, which draws upon a certain proportion of the school fund for the collection and maintenance of the district library. Again, most of the States have established libraries of their own for public use, and as centres to which may be gathered and whence may be disseminated the knowledge that appertains to the respective State localities. Special library systems have grown into great favor, covering and encouraging collections of historic works, of scientific literature, of information relating to law, medicine, theology, etc. In fact, there is hardly a line of investigation and mental activity that has not come to be represented in its library collections.

THE CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY, PITTSBURGH, PA.

At the head of all the century’s library triumphs in the United States stands the Library of Congress. It is the national repository, and is to the country what the British Museum is to Great Britain and the Bibliothèque Nationale is to France. It was founded in 1800, when the seat of government was moved to Washington. In 1814 it was burned by the British soldiers, its home being then in the Capitol, which was also destroyed. The government purchased Thomas Jefferson’s collection of 7000 volumes as the nucleus of a new library. This grew to contain 55,000 volumes by 1851, when all but 20,000 volumes were again destroyed by an accidental fire. In 1852 it was refitted, the government appropriating $75,000 for the purpose. On the restoration of its halls in the Capitol, in fire-proof form, it began to grow rapidly in volumes. In 1866, it received the 40,000 volumes which constituted the library of the Smithsonian Institute. In 1870, the privilege of copyright was transferred to it from the Patent Office. This, together with the annual appropriation made by Congress, served to give it a more rapid growth than ever, and to nationalize its importance. It speedily grew rich in collections of history, science, law, and every branch of literature appertaining to this and other countries. Under its privilege of copyright, two copies of every volume desiring such protection are required to be deposited within it. It must, therefore, ere long become quite fully representative of the literary productions of the country. In 1882, it was augmented by the presentation of the private collection of the late Dr. Joseph M. Toner, of Washington, containing 27,000 volumes and nearly as many pamphlets. By 1890 it had outgrown its ability to accommodate its collections, and Congress made a very liberal appropriation for the erection of a new and separate library building, which was completed and occupied by 1897–98, the late Hon. John Russell Young being its first librarian. It is the largest, most elegant, and best fitted repository of books in the world, being capable of accommodating over 2,000,000 volumes. The public are privileged to use its books within the building, but only members of Congress and certain designated officials of the Departments may take them away. It is open from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M., except upon Sundays and other legal holidays. Its location is on Capitol Hill, quite contiguous to the Capitol itself.

A pioneer of the system of free libraries, and the one which comes next to the Library of Congress in the number of its volumes, is the Public Library of Boston, founded in 1848. It has had a phenomenal growth, and is the centre of a wide range of literary influence. Its numerous branches extend throughout the city and surrounding towns, bringing free reading to every locality. The number of its volumes exceeds 700,000. The free library system stands sponsor for a host of libraries throughout the larger cities. The Public Library of Cincinnati was founded upon this basis in 1867. It at once attained great popularity and speedily grew till, by the end of the century, its volumes numbered approximately 220,000. The same popularity and rate of growth characterized the Public Library of Chicago and that of Philadelphia. The former was founded in 1872, and now contains over 220,000 volumes. The latter was not founded until 1891, but by the year 1900 it grew to contain 203,102 volumes, with fifteen branches, or divisions, throughout the city, and an annual circulation of 1,778,387 volumes.

Other libraries of the United States founded or rehabilitated during the nineteenth century, and which ere its close have taken rank as libraries containing over 100,000 volumes, are the New York State Library, at Albany, with approximately 190,000; the State Library at Annapolis, Md., with 100,000 volumes; the Enoch Pratt Free Library, at Baltimore, with 165,000 volumes; the Peabody Institute Library, at Baltimore, with 125,000 volumes; the Athenæum Library, at Boston, with 185,000 volumes; the City Library, at Brooklyn, N.Y., with 120,000 volumes; the University Library, at Chicago, with nearly 400,000 volumes; the Newberry Library, at Chicago, with 125,000 volumes; the Public Library at Detroit, with 135,000 volumes; the Cornell University Library, at Ithaca, N. Y., with 175,000 volumes; the library of the State Historical Society, at Madison, Wis., with 110,000 volumes; the Mercantile Library, at Philadelphia, with 175,000 volumes; the library of the University of Pennsylvania, with 120,000 volumes; the Astor Library, New York City, with 265,000 volumes; the Mercantile Library, New York City, with 250,000 volumes; the Public Library at St. Louis, Mo., with 105,000 volumes; the Sutro Library, at San Francisco, with 210,000 volumes.